Hi all,
I've been mulling a new tablesaw, though it will be a bit yet. I currently have a 1974 PM 64 that there is nothing wrong with but...
For an american style cabinet saw, there's really only one contender as a replacement and that's one of the Sawstops-ICS or PCS. I've heard really nothing but good things about them and recently was able to see a PCS in person at my local hardware store as the lumber yard replaced their old unisaw. A couple things struck me and so I checked the specs.
My PM has a table that's the old-school standard of 28" deep. The PCS is a bit shorter at 27" and the ICS is longer at 30". Neither difference on its own seems like a big deal.
Here's what I really noticed however-the distance from the front of the table to the blade is much shorter on the Sawstop because the blade is set much more forward. The distance from the front of my PM to the blade when fully extended is 14 1/4", with only a bit of table behind the blade (which has very little effect on cut quality).
The PCS distance is 10 1/4" and the ICS is 10 3/4". In the pictures below, I split the difference and set the blue tape to leave 10 1/2" of table in front of where the blade would engage.
IMG_8907.jpg
IMG_8908.jpg
Two thoughts:
1) Ripping: the amount of wood on the surface and length of the fence contacting wood before hitting the blade seems really short-job site saw short in fact. My understanding is that after the cut is open, the fence doesn't do much (hence euro style fences that end at the arbor to help prevent kickback). Regardless, I like having the full 14"+ (depending on depth of cut) on mine to hold/feed/guide as I'm sawing.
2) Crosscutting: only a ~10" vs. ~14" wide cut can be made with a miter gage that starts on the table--that's a good amount of difference.
I'm not trying to start a firestorm here... I simply haven't seen this discussed before and am curious about two things:
Did they move the blade forward to accommodate the brake mechanism? and
Does it actually matter in practice? Again, my suspicion is that it doesn't make too much difference given all the good reviews the saws get.
Anyway, some food for thought.
Best,
Chris